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Focusing

Focusing is a somatic awareness practice developed by Eugene Gendlin that involves attending to the ‘felt sense’ (the subtle, pre-verbal bodily knowing that arises when we turn attention inwards).

While TRE™ emphasises movement and release, Focusing emphasises stillness and listening. Together, they offer a complete practice of both releasing and understanding.

How Focusing and TRE™ work together​

What Focusing offers TRE™​

  • Develops interoceptive awareness (sensing internal body states)
  • Provides a way to dialogue with what arises during tremoring
  • Helps understand the meaning of somatic experiences
  • Supports integration of released material

What TRE™ offers Focusing​

  • Physical release of what Focusing contacts
  • Discharge mechanism for held tension
  • Completion of somatic processes
  • Movement when stillness alone isn’t enough

What is the felt sense?​

The felt sense is not an emotion, though emotions may be part of it. It’s the whole-body sense of a situation or issue; vague at first, but carrying implicit meaning. Gendlin discovered that people who made progress in therapy were those who could access this bodily knowing.

The felt sense might feel like:

  • A heaviness in the chest when thinking about a relationship
  • A tightness in the throat around a decision
  • An unclear ‘something’ that wants attention
  • A whole-body sense of rightness or wrongness

Learning to access and stay with the felt sense is a skill that develops with practice.

Integration​

Before TRE™​

Focusing before TRE™ can help you connect with what wants attention in your body.

Simple practice​

  1. Sit quietly and let your attention settle inwards
  2. Ask: ‘What wants my attention right now?’
  3. Wait for something to form in your body (not your thoughts)
  4. When you notice something, acknowledge it: ‘Yes, something is there’
  5. Stay with it gently, without trying to change it
  6. When ready, move into TRE™ practice

This connects you with what your body wants to work with today. Tremoring may then address what Focusing identified.

During TRE™​

Bringing Focusing-like awareness into tremoring is an advanced practice:

  • Notice the felt sense of where your body wants to tremor
  • Stay with the quality of sensations as they shift
  • Listen to what your body might be ‘saying’ through the movements
  • Allow meaning to emerge without forcing interpretation

This isn’t about analysing the tremors, but about maintaining a listening presence while they occur.

After TRE™​

Focusing after tremoring supports integration:

  1. After resting, bring gentle attention to your body
  2. Notice: ‘How does my body feel now? What has shifted?’
  3. Stay with any felt sense that emerges
  4. Let it communicate in its own way (words, images, feelings)
  5. Receive what comes without judging or explaining

This helps your conscious mind integrate what the body released.

As separate practices​

Many people practice Focusing and TRE™ on different days:

  • Focusing when you want to understand or listen
  • TRE™ when you want to release or discharge
  • Alternating based on what you need

Over time, the skills developed in each practice enhance the other.

Practical guidance​

The basic Focusing process​

Gendlin outlined six movements in Focusing:

  1. Clearing a space — Set aside immediate concerns; create inner room.
  2. Felt sense — Let a felt sense of an issue form in your body.
  3. Handle — Find a word, phrase, or image that captures the quality.
  4. Resonating — Check the handle against the felt sense; adjust until it fits.
  5. Asking — Gently ask the felt sense what it needs or wants.
  6. Receiving — Welcome whatever comes, without judgment.

Focusing attitudes​

  • Patience — The felt sense forms slowly; rushing doesn’t help.
  • Friendliness — Approach what you find with compassion.
  • Curiosity — ‘That’s interesting’ rather than ‘That’s wrong’.
  • Not-knowing — Let meaning emerge rather than imposing it.

These attitudes also serve TRE™ practice well.

Considerations​

  • Focusing can bring up difficult material; have support available if needed.
  • If you have significant trauma, consider learning Focusing with a trained practitioner.
  • The practices complement each other but don’t need to be combined every session.

Resources​

TRE™ releases, Focusing listens

Think of TRE™ as helping the body release what it’s holding, and Focusing as helping you listen to what the body is communicating. Together, they create a complete dialogue with your embodied experience.